Las Vegas Finally Reporting Increase in Tourism

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It is unlikely that any city in the U.S. was hit as hard by the recession as Las Vegas. They experienced simultaneous crashes in housing and tourism while still not being completely recovered from the downturn of the early 2000s. While housing may yet take a while to recover, signs of a recovery in the tourism industry are finally growing.

Numbers just released by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority say the city attracted 3,330,658 visitors in July, an increase of 4.7 percent from the same month a year ago.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, this is the largest single-month percentage growth in visitors to Las Vegas in almost five years.

Much of the growth can be attributed to great deals, an increase in convention business, and visits from those within driving distance. However, airline passenger counts have yet to see much of an improvement.

“We’re encouraged and happy to see the continued increases in visitation,” says Kevin Bagger, senior director of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “But we still know that people are cautious in their spending habits.”

Room rates for July were up 4.8 percent, to an average of just $91 per night. Additionally, even though there are some 7,000 more hotel rooms than a year ago, citywide occupancy remained at 84 percent; essentially unchanged from a year ago.